Preview — Pint-Sized Ireland by Evan McHugh

Pint-Sized Ireland: In Search of the Perfect Guinness

One man's tour of Ireland on tap; a rollicking travelogue in the tradition of Round Ireland with a Fridge and McCarthy's Bar.

"Regret" is the word that best describes Evan McHugh's first taste of Guinness. For an Australian raised on Vegemite, Ireland's black brew is very much an acquired taste. But the travel-writer is committed to acquiring it. Determined to discover exacOne man's tour of Ireland on tap; a rollicking travelogue in the tradition of Round Ireland with a Fridge and McCarthy's Bar.

"Regret" is the word that best describes Evan McHugh's first taste of Guinness. For an Australian raised on Vegemite, Ireland's black brew is very much an acquired taste. But the travel-writer is committed to acquiring it. Determined to discover exactly what makes a pint of Guinness so legendary, he crosses the Emerald Isle in search of his answers.But in sampling pints as he goes, McHugh soon realizes that in each town, and at every pub, someone always says that the best glass of Guinness is to be found . . . . somewhere else. In his comedic and sentimental journey, McHugh and his companion, Twidkiwodm (the-woman-he-didn't-know-he-would-one-day-marry), hitch around Ireland, meeting unforgettable characters. He goes rowing with a German bagpiper on the lakes of Killarney, windsurfing with a one-armed man in Dingle, survives an encounter with poteen and even finds his own bar . . . but keeps searching for the perfect pint.As entertaining as it is informative, Pint-Sized Ireland is both a hilarious travelogue and thoughtful diary. McHugh's comedic voice swiftly moves in and out of pubs, peering into froth-rimmed pints, and leading readers to question: So does he ever find the perfect pot of black gold? Those who have rested upon the barstools of Ireland, who have sought the famed "perfect pint of Guinness," realize that perfection rests in more than just the taste. McHugh captures the visceral experience of Guinness and Ireland in a warm memoir that's perfect to savor.

International Praise for Pint-Sized Ireland

"McHugh's idea of traveling is one continuous pub crawl . . . an entertaining homage to the black brew."---The Age (Australia)

"McHugh's writing style is intelligent, quirky, and conversational. The result is a consummately easy to read book, amusing and engaging. It'll make you want to go in search of your own perfect pint."---Adventure Travel

"This is a lovely book, well written, full of humorous anecdotes and works both as a travelogue and as a guide to drinking in Ireland. One of the real joys of this book is the way that the author captures the nuances and syntax of the way the people speak ('"Rooit", said the pub-landlord, 'in ye coom"'). After a few pages you find yourself falling into this yourself and by the time you finish the book you will have developed a full-blown Irish accent."---www.bootsnall.com...more

Community Reviews

"Maybe it's just me, but I suspect that most men dream of having women fight over them. In The Laurels, that dream was nearly fulfilled." (p 98)

I like the author's historical asides, particularly one in which he describes Ireland's origins. Instead of travelling around killing people and conquering places, in the 6th century, a bunch of Christian monks decided to basically just go to this island and read, read, read. They influenced the pursuant settlers, and Ireland is now the best read country"Maybe it's just me, but I suspect that most men dream of having women fight over them. In The Laurels, that dream was nearly fulfilled." (p 98)

I like the author's historical asides, particularly one in which he describes Ireland's origins. Instead of travelling around killing people and conquering places, in the 6th century, a bunch of Christian monks decided to basically just go to this island and read, read, read. They influenced the pursuant settlers, and Ireland is now the best read country in Europe.

"I find these guys pretty impressive for a couple reasons," writes the author. "First, I can identify with people who spent their days in a drafty cell, hunched over a manuscript. Second, they kept the light of civilisation burning for centuries while everyone else was a-rapin' and a-pillagin'. These days, when someone's always saying 'We'll all be ruined', it's comforting to know that it only takes a handful of people to sustain the idea of a better world." (p 116)

"James Joyce is supposed to have wished he'd met Yeats when he was younger and something could still be done about his writing. That goes to show how catty even great writers can be." (p 239)...more

A nice blend of travelogue, cultural study, history, humor, and drinking--lots of drinking. The best Guinness is (obviously) the one you have in your hand, but it never hurts to circle around Ireland doing 'research.' I giggled quite a bit, laughed out loud more than once, and by the time I finished, I found myself really wanting a pint. Nicely done.

A description of a tipsy tour of Ireland, complete with a little map decorated with iconic glasses of Guinness at each of the stops. McHugh writes a little like Bill Bryson. I like the style.

When I flipped the book open in the store, this is the paragraph that caught my eye and landed it in my hand to go home with me:

"Another term the Irish use to describe Guinness is 'moother's milk'. Considering it resembles liquid coal capped with a layer of densely packed froth of a colour one normally assocA description of a tipsy tour of Ireland, complete with a little map decorated with iconic glasses of Guinness at each of the stops. McHugh writes a little like Bill Bryson. I like the style.

When I flipped the book open in the store, this is the paragraph that caught my eye and landed it in my hand to go home with me:

"Another term the Irish use to describe Guinness is 'moother's milk'. Considering it resembles liquid coal capped with a layer of densely packed froth of a colour one normally associates with festering swamps, one can only conclude that Mother hasn't been well."...more

I don't drink alcohol, but I would love to visit Ireland and thought this sounded like a cute way to present a travel memoir. McHugh is a good writer and I enjoyed that he wrote the dialogue how he heard it: "Would a short roid in a taxi be alroit? It wouldn't cost ye mooch". He and his traveling companion, Twidkiwodm, carried backpacks, hitchhiked, and stayed in hostels, so the book was a much about the type of people he met in private vehicles and hostels as those who frequent pubs ("poobs). MI don't drink alcohol, but I would love to visit Ireland and thought this sounded like a cute way to present a travel memoir. McHugh is a good writer and I enjoyed that he wrote the dialogue how he heard it: "Would a short roid in a taxi be alroit? It wouldn't cost ye mooch". He and his traveling companion, Twidkiwodm, carried backpacks, hitchhiked, and stayed in hostels, so the book was a much about the type of people he met in private vehicles and hostels as those who frequent pubs ("poobs). McHugh is Australian and some of his idioms and jokes didn't translate well. He also never explains how Twidkiwodm's name "sounds like Michelle". (Huh?) That withstanding, this is a fun, quick read....more

I liked the premise of this book. It's about finding the perfect pint of Guinness. And in order to do this, the author reasons, you have to go to Ireland. I can get on board with that. The first third of the book is fun. It details his arrival in Ireland, and the many pubs his Irish friends and guides take him to. The remaining two thirds of the book is literally a travelogue. Mind you, it isn't terrible. It's just that the theme deviates a little. At the start, it's all about the beer and the pI liked the premise of this book. It's about finding the perfect pint of Guinness. And in order to do this, the author reasons, you have to go to Ireland. I can get on board with that. The first third of the book is fun. It details his arrival in Ireland, and the many pubs his Irish friends and guides take him to. The remaining two thirds of the book is literally a travelogue. Mind you, it isn't terrible. It's just that the theme deviates a little. At the start, it's all about the beer and the pubs. After that, it's more about the history, culture, and fellow travelers he encounters. (And in my opinion, he doesn't think highly of Americans. Every time he describes one, it's less than favorable. But I guess he's not alone there. Still, I have my pride.) The pubs and Guinness kind of become secondary after the first third. It's still a well written, fun book. And the last chapter does a really nice job tying the whole of the book together. It's not a waste of time, and if anything, it's just reinforced my desire to visit Ireland even more....more

I've wanted to read this book for quite some time, and I'm glad that I finally got the chance to do so. I love Guinness, I've always wanted to go to Ireland, and this appeared to be a book about both of those things - what's not to like? And though the book differed from my expectations, it's still incredibly entertaining.

I've read quite a few books about people traveling in Ireland (and quite a few about Guinness), and this ranks as one of the better ones, certainly right up there with Round IrI've wanted to read this book for quite some time, and I'm glad that I finally got the chance to do so. I love Guinness, I've always wanted to go to Ireland, and this appeared to be a book about both of those things - what's not to like? And though the book differed from my expectations, it's still incredibly entertaining.

I've read quite a few books about people traveling in Ireland (and quite a few about Guinness), and this ranks as one of the better ones, certainly right up there with Round Ireland with a Fridge, although maybe not quite surpassing it. Like that book, this concerns somebody hitchhiking around Ireland. And while Tony Hawks traveled with a refrigerator, Evan McHugh traveled with the girl he didn't know that he would one day marry. Unlike Hawks, McHugh (and TWIDKIWODM) came to Ireland to actually see the sights, and their quest to find the perfect Guinness was not so much something they planned as something they found themselves doing on the course of their journey.

The title (and description) of this book are somewhat misleading, because it's not really about looking for the perfect Guinness. This is a book about hitchhiking around Ireland, and all the places you can see and people you can meet along the way, with the Guinness quest as more of a background theme to tie everything together. And while that's not what I expected, I think this book is much better for it - you really get a feel of what it's like to not only travel across this country, but also excellent descriptions of place, with interesting history that never gets boring and serves to highlight the information that's being presented.

The only thing that really irked me was the way that McHugh wrote out the accents of the people talking. That's one thing that drives me crazy... but I will say that it wasn't as annoying as I've seen it in other places, and I did find myself sounding out the words just to hear the accent.

This book may not be for everyone, and I'm sure that people will come away from it disappointed that it didn't live up to what it promised. But it was an entertaining read, and while I can't afford to get to Ireland at the present, this book (almost) made me feel like I was there. ...more

now *this* is what I was expecting (and didn't get) when I picked up 'McCarthy's Bar'. Australian Evan McHugh goes to Ireland with his girlfriend of sorts (who he'd later marry) Twidkiwodm/Michelle and travels around the country. The main point of his trip is to find the 'perfect Guinness' so he visits a *lot* of bars, where he often gets friendly with the locals and other travellers from all around the world - several of whom he and Michelle actually meet more than once. But whichever bar he gonow *this* is what I was expecting (and didn't get) when I picked up 'McCarthy's Bar'. Australian Evan McHugh goes to Ireland with his girlfriend of sorts (who he'd later marry) Twidkiwodm/Michelle and travels around the country. The main point of his trip is to find the 'perfect Guinness' so he visits a *lot* of bars, where he often gets friendly with the locals and other travellers from all around the world - several of whom he and Michelle actually meet more than once. But whichever bar he goes to, and however good the Guinness, the people at the bar tell him the best Guinness is somewhere else.As well as a search for the perfect pint, Evan and Michelle have a lot of experiences - drinking the dreaded and famed 'poteen', windsurfing on an ice-cold Irish lake with a one armed guy, rowing on a lake in Killarney with a German bagpiper, and meeting lots of people - native Irish and people from all around the world with connections and a fascination to Ireland that match his own as he and Michelle hitchhike from place to place, hostel to hostel.

The perfect homage to Ireland, in which the author learns about Ireland, has some not-so-great experiences, but most of all just has fun, and takes real pleasure in being in Ireland....more

The book opens with the author and his eventually-to-become-his-wife travel partner taking the ferry from Wales to Ireland. “Choosing a ferry for our first taste of Guinness was a classic right time, wrong place situation. I know this now. Wrong. Very, very wrong. The taste was of something that had died a horrible death…. For a horrifying moment I suspected there had been a terrible misunderstanding of my pronunciation and what I had actually asked for was the ferry’s bilge. I was sure I knew

The book opens with the author and his eventually-to-become-his-wife travel partner taking the ferry from Wales to Ireland. “Choosing a ferry for our first taste of Guinness was a classic right time, wrong place situation. I know this now. Wrong. Very, very wrong. The taste was of something that had died a horrible death…. For a horrifying moment I suspected there had been a terrible misunderstanding of my pronunciation and what I had actually asked for was the ferry’s bilge. I was sure I knew where James Joyce got the inspiration for his description of those damned in hell in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. He’d drunk Guinness on this ferry.” Shortly after their arrival in Ireland, they join friend Pat at a local pub and he insists they each have a pint of Guinness. “’We tried this stuff on the ferry over,’ I explained. ‘Oh, you shouldn’ta doon that,’ Pat replied. ‘Why’s that?’ ‘It’s fookin’ shite, that’s why. Now get that into ya. We’ve a lotta poobs ahead of us.’”At subsequent “poobs” they’re told that, although the Guinness is good there, the best Guinness is in_________ (fill in the blank), and the merry crew ends up traveling Ireland in search of the perfect Guinness. It’s a funny book that’s part search, part travelogue, and part misadventures. Oh, and they find……Ah, but that will spoil the trip for you. ...more

Pint-sized Ireland is a fun and engaging read. The author shares his vacation around Ireland that evolves into the search for the perfect pint of Guinness.

Evan and his traveling companion go from the worst Guinness they can imagine to finding the answer to where to find the perfect pint. Their journey takes them up one side of Ireland and back down the other.

Along the way they are carted, cajoled, and cared for by the locals and fellow travelers. They find that Ireland has more pubs than hotelPint-sized Ireland is a fun and engaging read. The author shares his vacation around Ireland that evolves into the search for the perfect pint of Guinness.

Evan and his traveling companion go from the worst Guinness they can imagine to finding the answer to where to find the perfect pint. Their journey takes them up one side of Ireland and back down the other.

Along the way they are carted, cajoled, and cared for by the locals and fellow travelers. They find that Ireland has more pubs than hotels, and more stories about Guinness that one might imagine.

A good read as the author relates much about the land its self, its people, and its history. We meet several of the locals, we are with him as he scales a mountain, and stand beside him in awe with each new discovery.

I recommend this book to those who love Ireland, and those that love Guinness, and finally to those that just love a good old fashioned pub crawl....more

at first i thought his attempt at talking slang was going to get on my nerves byt quickly settled into the story telling and adventure, reliving places along their route that we visited - left me with a longing to return, share a pint and continue to explore. Very enjoyable read.

This is an enjoyable easy read that provides the reader/future traveler with an insight into the Irish community from the perspective of a backpacking world traveler. McHugh documents his search of the best pint of Guinness in Ireland and the adventures, cultural experiences and friendships made along the way, through hostel stays and hitch-hiking, pub crawling and mountain climbing. He offers readers a travel experience outside of the typical tour guided trip that can lead to a variety of opporThis is an enjoyable easy read that provides the reader/future traveler with an insight into the Irish community from the perspective of a backpacking world traveler. McHugh documents his search of the best pint of Guinness in Ireland and the adventures, cultural experiences and friendships made along the way, through hostel stays and hitch-hiking, pub crawling and mountain climbing. He offers readers a travel experience outside of the typical tour guided trip that can lead to a variety of opportunities at just the right time and place....more

I saw this book in Davis Kidd, drawn to it by its cover(I'm a sucker for Guinness). I got it for my birthday and started reading it that night...only to hit a slump. It was OK. I love Ireland, craic, pints, traveling, but McHugh was a man and an Australian to boot. Somehow, his writing and my absorption didn't connect. His best writing was in the final chapter "last drinks" where I found I couldn't agree with him more. The best pints of Guinness are found...well, read it and find out! Slainte!

Not as good as 'Round Ireland with a Fridge'. A bit mellow. Would have probably made a pretty good magazine article. The closing comment by the author was nice, but I'm not sure it was worth that long of a read to get to it.

As a travelogue this is brilliant..humorous, insightful, and colorful. There were many things I loved about this book, (written by an Australian who hitchhiked through Ireland a few weeks), but most of all I loved that he spelled the words that the Irish spoke to him as they sound, such as Dooblin for Dublin, ejeet for idiot, shoot oop for shut up, moit for might, dere for there etc. I loved this book so much, I've already ordered my own copy.

I think I'd actually like to give this 3-1/2 stars, but I can't. This is about the author's (Australian) travels through Ireland to find the perfect pint of Guinness. He comes to the conclusion >>spoiler alert!!!<<< that the perfect pint is the one you have in your hand, wherever you are. It was pretty funny and his adventures interesting. Mostly I liked it because I want to visit Ireland myself, so I kind of felt like I was there.

The book is 10 years old, but then, it sounds like nothing much changes in Ireland, so I took notes on pub names in case we're in some of the same towns on our up-coming trip. McHugh ran into, or almost drowned with, some interesting characters, such as the German bagpiper in the rowboat.I look forward to drinking Guinness in Ireland, but doubt I'll have as many as McHugh and his friends did.

This was given to me as a gift before I left for Ireland, and I read it on and off during my stay here and thoroughly enjoyed it. The author and Twidkiwodm (an acronym for "The woman I didn't know I would one day marry") cover a lot of ground, and their country-wide pub crawl results in a light-hearted travel memoir, packed with fun facts and observations. A great vacation read.

Not everyone loves Guinness, but for those who do, here's an entertaining read by an Australian who decides to travel all around Ireland, following the locals' advice as to where to find a perfectly pulled brew. The author gives a rollicking good impression of the excellent craic found in Irish pubs: music, storytelling, camaraderie, and, of course, Guinness.

A very fun and quick read, a travelogue told from the perspective of a guy in search of the perfect beer. Along the way McHugh provides some vivid descriptions of Ireland's pristine countryside, the age-old pubs and historical landmarks, and the warmth of the Irish people that make the island such a popular destination.

I gave this to my dad for father's day, and after watching him read it and giggle the whole way through, I borrowed it and did the same. It is a funny travelogue full of interesting fellow travelers. It made me pine for that trip to Ireland that I have wanted to take since I first saw "The Quiet Man."

"The perfect Guinness is really just a matter of being in the right place at the right time." This is a fun book, The author is going around Ireland drinking Guinness at any pub. Even though there are better Irish stouts than Guinness, the above quote from the book still holds true.

My nephew recommended this as I love Guinness. I loved the book, especially because it was also a tour of Ireland, so I saw some of the country through it. There was a bit too much drinking in it for me personally, but I should have expected that from the title. A fun read.

This is a humorous journey through the pubs and historic sites of Ireland as Evan McHugh and his companion Michelle search for the perfect pint of Guinness. A very enjoyable book that’s easy to read. The spellings of the Irish accents brings the language to life!

I really enjoyed this book, and the author's style. Though its title is about finding the perfect pint of Guinness, the book is quite a lot more with vivid descriptions of people that they met, and the places that they went while travelling around Ireland.

Funny and entertaining, this light read gave me some things to consider on my next tour of the the Emerald Isle. Certainly, I will be heading to Croagh Patrick, as well as searching for the perfect pint - it's moothers milk!

Got pretty boring in the middle, but I guess it's an alright travelogue. There wasn't a whole lot of connections with people though and only a glimpse of the culture, not real descriptive of the scenery; I was hoping for more...

Excellent book to read in preparation for a trip to Ireland! This funny Australian author details great scenes of the pubs he visits, and the characters he runs into. Very well-rounded and covers major cities.